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About the Ambition to Grow programme

Designed specifically to help micro, small and medium sized local enterprises, Ambition to Grow supports businesses to create good jobs and sell innovative products or services outside Northern Ireland.

The programme looks for Northern Ireland’s most innovative and ambitious enterprises to apply for up to £45,000 in funding to expand and grow their business.

Successful applicants will also become part of Invest Northern Ireland’s client portfolio.

The application call for Ambition to Grow is open from Monday 6 January, 9:00 until Friday 24 January, 12 noon.  

How can my business benefit from the Ambition to Grow programme?

Participants in the Ambition to Grow programme can receive up to £45,000 in financial support. This support is broken down as follows:

Full criteria and stipulations on the above support can be found in our Ambition to Grow Guidance Notes (PDF)

Who can apply for the Ambition to Grow programme?

Our Ambition to Grow programme is open to all businesses in Northern Ireland who meet the eligibility criteria.

Who is eligible for the Ambition to Grow programme?

The programme is designed for businesses that:

  • Manufacture a product or provide a tradeable service
  • Can demonstrate a clear plan to grow sales to customers outside Northern Ireland
  • Have the potential to create new employment within the business
  • Currently have annual turnover under £1m or sales outside Northern Ireland less than £300,000

How to apply?

To find out if your business can apply for Ambition to Grow, complete our eligibility checker. The closing date for applications is Friday 24 January 2025, 12 noon.

Answer the following questions to find out if you can apply.

Q1 - Is your business currently based in Northern Ireland with at least one director/proprietor/partner residing here, and have less than 250 full-time equivalent staff?
Q2 - Is your business currently trading?
Q3 - Does your business have either annual turnover under £1m or annual sales to customers outside Northern Ireland of less than £300,000?
Q4 - Does your business manufacture a product or provide a tradeable service?
Q5 - Are any of the following the main activity of your business?
  • Agricultural Production
  • Fisheries & Aquaculture Sectors (Production and Processing)
  • Steel
  • Coal
  • Shipbuilding
  • Synthetic fibres
  • Transport and its infrastructure
  • Energy generation, distribution & its infrastructure
  • Infrastructure
  • Tourism accommodation
  • Visitor attractions
  • Healthcare services (in-person)
  • Wholesale
  • Retail (including online)
  • Distribution
Q6 - Has your business received an offer or payment of grant support from Invest NI within the last five years?

If your business has received a payment of grant support from Invest NI within the last five years, please contact our Business Support Team to check if it will impact your ability to make an application for Ambition to Grow.

This does not include Covid-19 Emergency Funds, Innovation Vouchers, Economic Recovery Innovation Grant, or Access to Finance funding.

Q7 - Can your business commit to creating new employment and generating new sales directly to customers outside Northern Ireland over the next two years?

Commit to creating at least three new full-time equivalent positions within your business paying the Real Living Wage (currently £12.60 per hour) or at least one full-time management role with a gross annual salary of at least £30,000.

If you are proposing at least three new full time equivalent positions these can be a mixture of part time (contracted for 15-30 hours per week) and full time (30+ hours per week). Each part time role is equivalent to 0.5 full time positions. As an example, two full time positions and two part time positions would be the equivalent of three full time positions. If you are seeking support towards management positions these do need to be full time roles and contracted for a minimum of 30 hours per week.

Based on your answers your business is eligible to apply for Ambition to Grow.

Please click on the below link to start your online application. If you do not already have an account on Invest NI’s customer portal you will be asked to complete that registration process before you can complete the Ambition to Grow application form.

Apply now

You can save your application and return to it at any time, before the closing date of 12:00 noon Friday 24 January 2025.

Sorry, from your answers your business does not meet the eligibility criteria for Ambition to Grow

Outside of Ambition to Grow, there is a wide range of support available to help grow your business in the form of advice, guidance and funding.

Please visit our website for further details on available support or contact us.

Ambition to Grow is open to Northern Ireland businesses that meet the criteria. Find out more about becoming an Invest Northern Ireland client company.

Find out more in our Ambition to Grow FAQs (PDF)

Discover more

Hear how the Ambition to Grow programme helped Nomadic Watches grow their business both locally and internationally.

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